Finding the Right Homeopathic Key to Fit the Lock

During the four years of homeopathic training, I consulted with a gifted and compassionate homeopath to try and find a curative remedy for the episodes of trigeminal pain that continued to tear through my face. I was the kind of patient that would discourage most practitioners – one after another, no remedy touched the pain. Other things improved, I’d feel better emotionally, my homeopathic education was enhanced and I learned a great deal, but despite a number of well thought out homeopathic prescriptions, I would still be forced to resort to pharmaceuticals in ever higher doses for months on end. At times I wondered if my TGN was incurable – even homeopathy cannot cure everything, although a good remedy should still bring some kind of improvement in the person’s well-being.

With the lack of improvement, searching for the right remedy was always in the back of my mind; continuing my own study and research, part of my brain would be sifting through remedy descriptions looking for one whose symptomatic puzzle pieces matched the pattern of my own. Unfortunately there are many remedies which can be indicated in neuralgic pain, so the key is to find the one which matches not only the pain symptoms, but the other aspects of a person as well. In the school clinic, we worked with clients and marveled as complex and diverse conditions such as colitis, Myasthenia gravis, depression, hyperactivity, hormone disorders and endometriosis gradually improved as a result of the remedies we prescribed so I had continual evidence that homeopathy worked – even if I was the exception. In any event, I wasn’t going to change my commitment to homeopathy as it continued to live up to my expectations in every other way.

Using homeopathy to treat my children for various illnesses was a huge help and doctor’s visits became a rarity. Whether it was a sudden ear infection or a bout of intestinal flu or an accidental injury, homeopathic remedies were all we needed to quickly and gently resolve the problem. My husband’s recurring chest and shoulder pain faded away, never to return. Even our cats responded well when I used homeopathy to heal wounds or abscesses so there were plenty of examples that kept me believing in it.

Before graduating, I wrote a lengthy research paper. Although I was not currently in a TGN episode, it was never far from my thoughts. Gathering material from a particular book, I stumbled across a description of an emotional characteristic of a long-used but not widely known (to me) remedy that struck me as exactly how I felt. This remedy was one of the hundred plus which can have neuralgic pain but I had never taken it. Always willing to experiment, I decided to take a dose the next time the pain kicked in and see what happened. I didn’t have long to wait; three weeks later, standing in the kitchen, the familiar burning pain suddenly shot across my face. Carefully I got the remedy and put it in my mouth, trying not to exacerbate the pain. Suddenly, instantly, there was a complete absence of pain. I shook my head a little – nothing happened. I opened my mouth wide and pretended to chew – nothing happened. The pain had simply vanished, and stayed away for the course of days. Eventually when there was a recurrence, I took another dose and the pain again immediately disappeared. The pharmaceuticals stayed in the cupboard, the pain was gone.

That was close to 7 years ago. For several years I occasionally took doses of the remedy during minor flare-ups of pain but they would settle down in short order and I never had to go on pharmaceutical drugs again. Even the minor flare-ups have long ceased and I feel no shadow of pain sensation in my face at all. While the spectre of TGN gradually faded away, I experienced other positive changes in my life and psyche. Without the fear of chronic pain, I’ve been free to devote more energy to my homeopathic practice and continuing education as well as pursue a wider variety of interests and activities. Despite the terrible years, I now look back with a sense of gratitude. The nightmare of TGN was the catalyst that brought me to the fuller experience of life, family, friendship and practice of homeopathy I have today. Offering my homeopathic understanding and skills to assist others is a great privilege far overshadowing any distant memories of pain.